HOUSTON METHODIST
BioButton takes nurses’ patient care to the next level
Empowering the talented nurses at Houston Methodist is first and foremost when it comes to patient care, which is exactly what the new BioButton technology is doing throughout Houston Methodist’s hospitals.
The recently implemented BioButton is a wearable device worn directly on the skin that continuously monitors vital signs including skin temperature, resting respiratory rate, and resting heart rate.
The BioButton, which also can check a broad range of diverse biometrics, provides around-the-clock data and can alert health care staff to changes and fluctuations in patients very early on, according to Kaela Aguilar, MSN, RN-BC, night nurse manager — Acute Care Services, Houston Methodist Clear Lake Hospital.
A six-year veteran nurse, Aguilar said she immediately realized the BioButton’s benefits, finding that nurses and techs are able to focus on additional priorities such as making personal connections with patients and their families.
“This extra technology available
at HMCL has basically become an extra set of eyes on patients when nurses and techs can’t be there in the room,” Aguilar said. “This is key in creating a safe environment for our patients and providing unparalleled care. These devices are simply an extra layer of protection and safety in monitoring them.”
Savanna Payne, BSN, RN, works on a medical-surgical
unit at Houston Methodist and was introduced to the BioButton in February. Her excitement to learn more led her to become a “super user” to educate her co-workers about it. It was the device’s range of capabilities that inspired her.
“This device monitors the patient’s heart rate, skin temperature, respiratory rate, and activity level every minute. Every hour the average of these
readings is uploaded into the chart, giving staff a way to closely monitor patient vitals. The implementation of the BioButton has given nursing staff additional and more current information regarding our patient’s status allowing us to intervene sooner,” Payne said.
Additional benefits include reduced need for manual vital sign collection, fewer nighttime spot checks that wake patients, improved patient satisfaction, improved outcomes in the hospital, decreased manual documentation time, and clinically actionable notifications without alarm fatigue.
Vanessa Esquivel, RN-BC, charge nurse on the fourth floor at Houston Methodist-Clear Lake, said she was very excited to use the device.
“It feels like another set of eyes on our patients, which is always a good thing. The education we received on it only made me more intrigued,” Esquivel said, adding that it’s an important resource to get more information on a patient’s status, and whether or not they’re improving or declining, which improves overall care.
“At first, the patients are usually a little confused about what the BioButton is. After giving them the explanation of how a BioButton monitors the heart movement/rate versus the telemetry monitoring the electrical activity, they are usually very impressed. The constant improvement of medical devices and how things have changed in the medical field is always a fun topic of discussion for our patients,” Esquivel said.